On 3 May 2024, the Chang’e 6 probe was successfully launched and entered its intended orbit, starting a new journey for China’s lunar exploration. It was the strongest rocket in Asia, the Long March 5, developed by the First Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), that lifted it into the sky. The LM-5 series of carrier rockets have achieved ‘ten consecutive victories’.
Long March V: The Rise of Asia’s Strongest Launch Vehicle
LM-5 series launch vehicle is China’s first 5-meter core stage diameter new-generation high thrust launch vehicle, which mainly serves manned spaceflight, deep space exploration, and other major special tasks. It is the strongest rocket in China and throughout all of Asia. It is known as the Fat Five by the netizens who love it‘.
From the project to the first flight, and now ten consecutive victories, the Long March 5 development team has gone through the sweet and sour for more than ten years. This year, Long March 5 will once again carry out the mission of the moon exploration project, escorting Chang’e 6, the largest probe with the highest mass developed by China so far, to the Earth-Moon transfer orbit, which puts forward high requirements for the rocket’s carrying capacity.
Both Chang’e-5 and Chang’e-6 weigh more than 8 tonnes. Looking at China’s active rocket family, only the Chang’e 5 can accurately deliver such a ‘huge thing’ to a predetermined orbit!
Compared with the Chang’e-5 remote five rocket that carried out the Chang’e-5 mission three years ago, the Chang’e-5 remote eight rocket that launched Chang’e-6 carried out nearly 160 technical improvements. The Long March 5 launch test team also combed through more than 30,000 design features and confirmed them one by one, to control product quality.
Team power behind Long March 5
Since its return to flight in 2019, the ‘Fat Five’ has achieved ten consecutive victories. These ten heavy-duty, each time is a hard battle, and the long five rocket all development, production, operation staff of the concept, is to fight a battle, must be further!
From October last year, Changfive Remote Six into the field, to May this year, Changfive Remote Eight successfully launched Chang’e 6, in more than half a year, the Long Five rocket launch test team will be Long Five Remote Six, Remote Seven, remote eight ‘three brothers’ successfully into space.
There are 130 people in the Long Five Rocket Launch Test Team, and there are more than 100 members of the team for the ‘three consecutive launches’. They have stood firm at the launch site for 200 days, withstood the test of the ‘three consecutive launches’, and realized self-breakthroughs in the consecutive successes.
The vast majority of them have been struggling side by side and sharing the storm since the ‘Long Five’ project was launched in 2006. Perhaps because the task is too difficult, or because they have experienced too much experience together, they have become more and more stable, and have formed a tacit understanding of mutual understanding and honest cooperation.
Aerospace Science and Technology Group, Wang Jue recalled the development of the Long Five rocket: ‘China’s aerospace is invaluable to be able to rise from the setbacks, in the face of adversity, a group of people with the dream of a strong country united together, cohesion into the power to overcome the difficulties, but also casting a strong team.’
Dedication and support: Henan enterprises help China’s spaceflight
In the glorious course of China’s aerospace industry, not only the countless efforts of the aerospace research team, there are many supporting forces from other industries. Henan Dafang Crane Company, Henan Kuangshan Crane Company, DGCRANE Company, and other companies a leaders in the field of domestic Crane equipment, and actively add to China’s aerospace industry. They provide high-precision, high-reliability eot crane and explosion-proof overhead crane equipment to ensure the smooth progress of the tasks in the space project, contributing a solid force for the successful launch of the Long March V rocket. With excellent product quality and technological innovation, these enterprises help China’s aerospace industry continue to scale new heights, contributing to the country’s scientific and technological progress and national rejuvenation.
